The
powers that be, who created
the stories for the boss
characters to heat things
up for the series with KOF
'97, first decided to make
the final boss an Orochi
to conclude the series' "Orochi
Saga." The stage bosses were
an easy choice: the three
remaining characters of the
Four Orochi Deities. This
was followed with the suggestion
to make the final boss Iori,
"berserk with the Orochi
blood rage." So the "Minor,"
"Middle," and "Major" bosses
were decided, with the "Orochi
Iori" we know and love rounding
off the quartet as the final
boss.
Because this character was
originally designed as a
player character at the time,
he's designed to mow down
the other characters with
relative ease.